BOSTON – Clemson sophomore Logan Morris (21:13.3) placed 27th in the women’s 6K race at the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships at the historic Franklin Park in Boston Friday morning. The sophomore guided the Tiger women to an 11th-place finish after Clemson’s top-5 scorers totaled 294 points. On the men’s side sophomore John Ward (24:57.8) had a strong outing, completing the 8K course in under 25:00.0 for the first time in his career. The Clemson men finished in 14th overall with 395 points.
Behind Morris was senior Elizabeth Dawson who finished her race in 21:55.4 to place 59th overall. Freshmen Riley Coggin (22:00.6) and Liz Sauder (22:04.9) both achieved personal bests Friday. Coggin was the 66th competitor to cross the finish line, while Sauder finished just behind Coggin in 69th. The women’s 11th-place finish is three spots higher than last year’s team finish.
“We came here with higher expectations for the women collectively,” said Clemson head coach Mark Elliott. “There were certain parts of the race where we ran well. They’re still a young group trying to build and get better with each race. The effort was there today, starts were good, but for one reason or another we just couldn’t put it all together. We have regionals coming up, so hopefully they can bounce back.”
All five men’s scorers in Ward, Colt Griffith (25:14.7), Jackson Goodwin (25:24.3), Jacob Slann (25:27.7) and John Lewis (26:11.0) turned in personal bests in Friday’s 8K race. Lewis, who specializes in middle distance events on the Tigers’ track & field team, scored in his first career ACC Cross Country Championship meet.
“I thought the men ran well today, especially John Ward who ran under 25:00 for the first time. We we’re hoping to have a little bit better team finish, but we can’t complain with how they competed today.”
Women’s results (top-5 score)27. Logan Morris, 21.13.359. Elizabeth Dawson, 21:55.466. Riley Coggin, 22:00.6 (personal best)69. Liz Sauder, 22:04.9 (personal best)73. Jenna Gearing, 22:09.283. Erin McLaughlin, 22:18.991. Morgan Wittrock, 22:30.5
Men’s results (top-5 score)63. John Ward, 24:57.8 (personal best)76. Colt Griffith, 25:14.7 (personal best)81. Jackson Goodwin, 25:24.3 (personal best)83. Jacob Slann, 25:27.7 (personal best)92. John Lewis, 26:11.0 (personal best)94. Michael Smith, 26:16.5 (personal best)97. Daniel Shaughnessy, 26:43.5
Up next, the Tigers head to the NCAA Southeast Regionals on Friday, Nov. 9 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
For complete coverage of the Tiger cross country/track & field team, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram, and ‘Clemson University Track & Field’ on Facebook.
